Chinyengetere stages amazing comeback

IT has been just over 18 months since Hwange and former Zimbabwe Warriors mid-fielder, Rodwell Chinyengetere’s pain of not playing far outstripped the agony felt on his leg that was seemingly beyond repair. Chinyengetere, suffered a double fracture on his right leg shin following a nasty collision with the then Monomotapa goalkeeper, Artwell Mukandi, now at Dynamos, in a league match at Rufaro Stadium on September 22, 2012.

So good was Chinyengetere that year that he was voted as one of the 11 finalists for the Soccer Star of the Year despite missing a handful of matches due to injuries. Although the 29-year-old suffered an injury at a time he was blossoming for both Hwange and the Warriors which was under the guidance of the then coach Rahman Gumbo, crucially his spirit was not.

The mid-fielder, however, had a lot of convincing to do, not least to himself but had to prove to his coach, Nation Dube that his leg was fit for rigours of top flight league again while quelling inner disquiet that the physical imprint he used to leave on matches could again be delivered with the same compelling force. However, the fact that he has been able to fight his way back into the Chipangano team, let alone the starting lineup is quite staggering. He has helped his team make an impressive unbeaten start to the campaign as they seek to rebuild after a ninth place finish last season, surviving relegation on the last day of the league programme by beating Motor Action 1-0.

Hwange have so far registered two victories and a draw in their opening three games of the season to place them as joint log leaders with Highlanders and ZPC Kariba having all amassed seven points so far. Hwange is one of the clubs still enjoying an unbeaten run. The others are Highlanders, ZPC Kariba and Chapungu. This has brought hope to their fans that Chipangano are once again living up to their nickname.

Hwange hammered Buffaloes 5-1 in the opening game of the season at the Colliery with Chinyengetere scoring a brace, a development which helped to bring a smile to his face on his return to Castle Lager Premier Soccer League football. Evans Rusike also scored twice for Hwange while Tafara Chese weighed in with the fifth goal. Kelvin Thembani scored for Buffaloes.

The team probably played their best game this season when they came back from two goals down to secure a 3-2 victory against FC Platinum at Mandava Stadium in Zvishavane. Aleck Marime’s brace and a wonder goal from Eric Chipeta straight from the corner flank cancelled out two first half goals by Mitchell Katsvairo and Qadar Amini for FC Platinum. The stalemate came in a 1-1 draw at home to Triangle with Chinyengetere cancelling Triangle’s Tinei Chitora goal. Chinyengetere is too aware of the potential risk the club opened itself up to when they registered him for the 2014 Castle Lager Premiership season.

“I feel no pain now and I feel I can play the whole season. I hope their (club) gamble has paid off. I have been out of the game for almost 18 months and I really wanted to play football again .This was an opportunity for me to come back into the game and hope they(club) are happy too,” said Chinyengetere.

Asked about the prospects of winning the championship, Chinyengetere said: “Mmmmmm it’s too early to talk about that but we have people who want to work for it — probably we will do something.”

Perhaps, the next five games will tell whether the Colliery side has overcome their troubles of the past few seasons when the club used to fight relegation. The team may not be a household name they once were but they play excellently as a collective unit and have great experience.   If Chipangano can sail over the weekend’s hurdle at Highlanders, it could give them the belief that they are on the verge of something special. After the Highlanders game, Hwange will face Black Rhinos, How Mine, Bantu Rovers and Chapungu.

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